This invention relates to a material handling plow and long-wearing blade therefor, and more particularly to a plow design and blade which overrides road surface irregularities and relatively immovable objects and automatically resets to a snow-engaging position without damage to the blade or road surface.
It is common to provide snowplow attachments on vehicular-mounted plows with safety release arrangements for releasing the blade and/or plow when a relatively immovable object is encountered. In these arrangements, either the scraping surface of the plow blade or the entire plow blade is pivotally mounted so that when a relatively immovable object or road surface irregularity is encountered, the plow blade rotates to "walk over" the object or surface irregularity. The blade must then be either manually or automatically reset to its normal operating position by the vehicle operator. Examples of such safety release arrangements are discussed in Kahlbacher, U.S. Pat. No. 3,626,614, and Gove, Sr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,877. However, even with such safety arrangements, the plow may have a tendency to jam on occasion resulting in personal injury to the operator and damage to the road surface, obstacle, plow and/or vehicle on which the plow is mounted.
Additionally, conventional snowplow blades are subject to rapid wear because of the weight of the plow bearing on the blade as it passes over abrasive road surfaces, To avoid rapid wear, conventional blades must be positioned above the road surface resulting in a layer of snow being left on the road surface after plowing. Expensive chemicals must then be applied to remove the remaining snow. Maintenance and replacement costs for conventional plows as well as down time for repair, maintenance and/or replacement are not insubstantial.
Additionally, conventionally-designed snowplow blades generate wind and air turbulence as they are pushed along road surfaces. This wind and turbulence tends to carry a fine cloud of snow above the plow which obscures the vehicle operator's vision and may result in traffic accidents. Moreover, this cloud of snow then resettles back to the road surface after the plow has passed.
Finally, conventional snowplow blades are subject to side slip which is caused by the resultant force from the angle of the plow blade relative to the direction of forward push against the layer of snow on a road surface. Such side slip may cause the vehicle on which the plow is mounted to leave the road and result in costly accidents and equipment damage.
Accordingly, the need exists in the art for a plow blade and plow of a design which overrides road surface irregularities and relatively immovable objects, minimizes wear on the blade, cleans the road surface substantially free of snow and substantially eliminates the formation of clouds of snow and side slip of the plow when in use.